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Physical Component (originally Supplementary Notes for 2004 Personal Conditioning Video)
Below is an outline of the three phases of a training and conditioning programme in which each phase varies in the volume and ratio of NHB/MMA/submission fighting-specific and non-specific work to be performed as well as the tempo and intensity of that work. What then follows is a discussion of various training and conditioning concepts and principles as well as suggested training and conditioning routines.
PHASE ONE
Through non-specific, NHB/MMA specific, and mixed exercises as well as fight drills, play-fighting and sparring on the feet and positional, situational and submission wrestling, the fighter develops that mindset, level of conditioning (strength, aerobic/anaerobic fitness, body conditioning, etc.), athleticism (rapid hand and foot speed, agility, dynamic balance, reactive power, hand-foot-eye coordination, etc.), fundamental skills (stance, footwork, penetration steps, heists, sprawls, etc.), key moves (offensive, defensive, and counteroffensive), and strategies and tactics necessary for competing in NHB/MMA. The greater the depth and breadth of this phase, the greater the potential for becoming a successful fighter. However, although achieving this foundation is your primary goal, it is not your ultimate goalÑfighting is. So the sooner you can progress to Phase II and begin more intense and specific fight training, the better.
PHASE TWO
The tempo and intensity are significantly increased and in order to facilitate this increase, many non-specific exercises are dropped or scaled back and the exercises and fighting drills that are retained are made more NHB/MMA specific and contained within a number of primary exercises. This phase of training could be seen as a high maintenance programme from which the fighter at short notice could immediately begin preparations for competition, and from which he could begin to peak his performance.
PHASE THREE
Again the tempo and intensity are increased and again in order to facilitiate this increase, non-specific work is dropped or scaled back so that the training more closely resembles the fight you anticipate fighting against a particular physical and stylistic type. This final phase of training usually takes place over a two to three week period, as it is within this time frame that you can drop non-specific strength and anaerobic threshold exercises, etc. without losing conditioning, allowing you to concentrate only on that which is specific to the fight. It is also within this 2-3 week period that you can train very intensely every day or every other day for 30 to 45 minutes (a period of time that approximates the fight time) without fear of overtraining, and provided you take several days off at the end of this final preparation period, you will peak for competition or for a personal training goal.
'Peaking' refers to the phenomonenon that occurs when, after the system has been overloaded through very intense exercise, the body overcompensates for the energy deficit by overenergizing. If you progressively overload the system each time you train, provided you get adequate rest between the workouts and at the end of a training cycle, you will get stronger and stronger. The greater the overload and energy deficit, the greater the body's overcompensation for it. The whole purpose of training is to progressively produce an overload or energy deficit specific to the requirements of a NHB/MMA fight so that the system overcompensates for that deficit by fighting back and becoming more efficient than it was before, with this overcompensation being timed so that you peak at the time of competition.
Becoming too efficient, however, is a problem, in that adaptation ceases to take place when the body becomes accustomed to a particular pattern of training. That's why you need to have ways of varying your training routines without compromising your immediate training goals and overall fighting objectives. Always remembering, of course, that training is only as effective as your ability to recover from it. Taking one-hour-plus naps between twice-daily training sessions (growth hormones are released within this period) and having at least eight hours of proper sleep every night greatly aids in the recovery process, as do having adequate hydration before, during, and after training and having three square meals a day of complex carbs, simple carbs, proteins and healthy fats, plus snacks. Suggested diets, meal/energy-replacement drinks/bars and supplements that can all aid by providing a sustained flow of nutrients to the body throughout the day, sustaining energy levels during intense training and assisting recovery and growth after it can all be found within the numerous fitness magazines and books on the market.
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With regards to warm-ups, some research suggests they are a waste of time, whilst other research suggests that static warm-ups (stretching) actually compromises performance, whilst dynamic stretching enhances it. If youÕre going to warm up, why not put the time spent to good use and kill two birds with one stone by using the fundamental skills (sit-throughs, heists, elbow escapes, sprawls, duck-walks, etc.) at low intensity through exaggerated planes of movement. Equally, cool-down static stretches have been shown to be a waste of time, though riding an indoor cycle with legs and arms at low intensity has been shown to be beneficial in clearing lactic acid.
When planning a very intense workout, why not take a very cold shower before it (it helps to reduce core temperature, and it's something I did for thirty years until the baby came along)Ñand a cold shower after it, though an ice bath would be more beneficial in reducing and containing tissue damage. What has definitely been shown to aid recovery after an intense workout is drinking plenty of water and eating a meal of protein and carbohydrates within an hour to two hours of completing it, primarily because after creating an energy deficit, you don't want to be using muscle protein as an energy source to aid in recovery, and you definitely don't want to become dehydrated.
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One of the first things that you need to establish before beginning serious and intense training is to train the system to clear the rapid build-up of lactic acid in the muscles during high-intensity work, so that within both a competitive and training framework you are able to sustain very intense and variable high-performance work both on the feet and on the ground for approximately a 30-minute period, i.e., 5 X 5 minute rounds. The best way I have found of achieving this is through anaerobic threshold training, i.e., working just within the anaerobic zone at an intensity at which the system can clear lactic acid faster than it builds up. By progressively increasing this intensity through pacing your overall effort or through interval training of short burst of between 10 and 30 seconds and more sustained efforts from 3-5 minutes within your running, indoor cycling, personal conditioning workouts, fight training with equipment and/or training partner, you will gradually begin to improve your VO2 max or your ability during extreme efforts to more efficiently process oxygen.
Working at a comfortable aerobic pace during any exercise other than dynamic warm-ups, post-workout stretching or technically-oriented fight training is counter-productive, in that there is no condition within a NHB/MMA fight where you would be allowed to work at this pace, and any skills you might have acquired within the 'aerobic zone' would quickly be compromised as would be your concentration, conditioning, coordination, etc. within the anaerobic zone. To train within the anaerobic threshold you have to be mentally focused and tough, and prepared to punish yourself more than any opponent ever could.
A great way of introducing anaerobic threshold training into your workout is to use an indoor cycle and, for example, cycle at the highest intensity you can sustain for 15 minutes, record the distance travelled, and (with no rest between) see if you can in 15 minutes again cover the same distance. If you can do this, up the intensity at your next workout (following a 24-36 hour rest period) and if you can't, attempt to reduce the deficit between the first 15 minutes 'out' and the second (15 minutes+) time period 'back' until you can do the entire distance in 30 minutes (15+15). The deficit between your performance and 15+15 is the equivalent of failing to complete a 5X5-minute round fight. You could also divide this form of training into two 15 minute periods with a couple of minutes break in between each period, as well as begin to add more variable work, introducing spurts of 10-30 secs or using higher resistance for more sustained efforts of 3-5 minutes. In other words, you are attempting to replicate from a cardio standpoint, fighting on the feet and on the ground. Naturally as training progresses through the phases, this anaerobic threshold training becomes more specific to NHB/MMA fighting itself.
Another great way of using the indoor cycle to train the system to clear lactic acid as well as increase your arm, chest, shoulder and back strength is to sit behind the cycle and cycle alternately with each arm, very intensely, switching from arm to arm as you become fatigued, for a total of10 minutes. Try it and see.
The time allocation for workouts varies. Very intense workouts are limited to between 30 and 45 minutes, though the overall training time can be longer if you decide to combine intense workouts with less intense workouts; i.e., 30 minutes of low intensity stretching,plus 5X5 minutes of light or touch sparring, plus 5X5 minutes of very intense work on pads or mixed equipment, plus a cool-down period, adds up to nearly two hours of training. You shouldn't, however, attempt to train intensely for two hours as not only wouldn't you be able to keep up a high intensity of quality work for two hours, but there is no reason from a NHB/MMA perspective that you should. It would be equally pointless to train on the bag or pads for two hours at low intensity as there is no condition within a NHB/MMA fight that you would be required to do so. All equipment training should be performed at high intensity using intervals of short, explosive bursts over a 5 minute period to replicate striking on the feet or on the ground, or longer sustained efforts, say using heavy dumbbells, to replicate hand fighting on the feet in the closed position or on the ground for dominant positional control. Naturally, if you can't work intensely on the bag, pads, or wrestling dummy for 5X5 minutes then work at the highest intensity you can for as long as you can.
Your training cycle usually follows a hard-easy pattern of intensity over a 4-5 day period of two sessions a day. Anything less, don't bother. The four to six hours between daily sessions, preferably with a nap between, and a good night's sleep should provide an adequate rest period. If when you wake up in the morning you feel exhausted, extremely stiff and with your pulse still racing and you are forcing yourself to train, then your programme might need some adjustments and you might need to take a morning/afternoon or even a whole day off. Outlined below is a simple example of a high maintenance (PHASE 2) training programme that is not written in stone.
Monday
AM run/bike
PM mixed fight training (e.g. padman, bag, dummy, training partner as above)
Tuesday
AM personal conditioning training (step-ups, pull-ups, etc. plus mixed equipment training)
PM drilling, playfighting, sparring and scrimmaging
Wednesday
AM hill run or stair climb
PM same as Monday
Thursday
same as Tuesday
Friday
same as Monday
Saturday
rest day/finish up any incomplete work from previous week
Sunday
same as Saturday
To build up your initial anaerobic threshold you will need to run or use an indoor cycle. The basic run is a hard run of 15 minutes out, as far as you can, and the same distance back as fast as you can, as previously described using the indoor cycle. Progressively you can start to add hill work (variable incline and pace, i.e., bursts of 10-30 seconds or hard runs of 3-5 minutes) so as to replicate the changing intensities of work on the feet and on the ground in a NHB/MMA match. Additional running for endurance and leg strength could include, as suggested, on Wednesday hill runs and stair climbing (with weight on back) of for example 5X5 minute rounds. Once these foundations are formed they allow you to more specifically condition yourself to the requirements of the NHB/MMA fight.
Personal conditioning training is a form of circuit training using step-ups, lunges, dips, press-ups, pull-ups squats, sit-ups, squat-thrusts, tuck jumps, ski jumps, stair and resistance sprints, etc. performed at very high intensity from between 30 seconds and 2 minutes (depending on the demands of each particular exercise) with little or no rest in between each exercise and no more than 30-60 seconds between 'rounds'. See film 'Conditioning Exercises' for details on these. The exercises are arranged so as to produce a cross-training effect over a 3 or 5 X 3 or 5 minutes round period. To add greater intensity to the work effort they can also be practiced using a weighted vest or carrying dumbbells. These non-specific exercises can also be coupled on a morning personal workout with mixed equipment training which reflects specifically what you're going to need to do within a fight, as shown on the Personal Training film (e.g., using the fixed heavy bag to condition hands, elbows, knees, shins and feet; the medicine ball to knee, practice chokes, etc.; the wrestling dummy/bag to knee, perform power drops, toss, ground & pound, etc.; using light dumbbells to strengthen punches or heavier dumbbells in fighting for dominant control in the closed position on the feet or on the ground). Remember that the total duration of this intense form of mixed training should not be less than 30 minutes and not more than 45 minutes.
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Fight training, the most important part of your preparations, is roughly divided as follows:
• Drilling
• Playfighting
• Sparring on the feet in the open and closed positions
• Fighting for dominant control in the standing closed position (clinches, ties, set-ups)
• Takedowns
• Positional, situational and submission fighting (ground£, chokes and locks)
When performing at higher intensities, mitts and gloves are worn so to not only more realistically replicate grappling and striking scenarios, but when performing 'unconditionally' to introduce a measure of safety. When the safety of the fighter becomes a major concern, particularly as the competition day gets closer, one way of still retaining high intensity and preserving a sense of reality whilst reducing the risk of injury is to incorporate mixed fight training using a pad man, training partner and equipment (i.e., heavy fixed bag, wrestling dummy, or heavy 'free' bag). A typical example of this form of training begins with the fighter engaging in light or touch sparing with his training partner for 1-1.5 minutes, then switching to the pads and blasting them for another 1-1.5 min. Then switching back to the training partner and engaging in another 1-1.5 minutes of very intense pummelling for positional control, a takedown and a quick submission. Switching then to the heavy bag and engaging in very intense bag work which could also include sprawls, flying guards, takedown positions, etc., then going back to the training partner and engaging in positional, situational and submission fighting for another 1-1.5 minutes and then to the wrestling dummy or heavy free bag and practicing power dumps and ground & pounds. Then, after a minute's rest, repeat the whole process or variations of it for 5-7 rounds.
Variations within this form of very intense training could include the pad man calling out a sprawl, upon which the fighter instantly drops to the ground and as soon as he touches it, returns to the feet. The fighter could also take the pad man offensively or counteroffensively down to the ground and practice some ground£ on the pads.
Other forms of very intense training are pounding the standing bag for 3-5 minutes taking a minute's rest, followed by 3-5 minutes of intense skipping, take a minute's rest, next perform some ground & pound on the free heavy bag from various positions--rest--squat thrusts for 3-5 minutes and then perform some strikes on the bag on your back from the guard position--rest--then perform bar jumps Ricky Hatton style.
Once you have grasped the principle of mixing non-specific exercises with NHB/MMA specific exercises with equipment or with a training partner, or all three, endless permutations become possible. However, don't get too carried away. Keep your workout simple and reality-based, in that too much thinking about what you are going to do will not only prevent you from just doing it, but also from doing it very intensely.
High intensity quality work is the key to becoming a successful NHB/MMA fighter. Your training motto could be 'what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger' (Nietzche). Remember, we have evolved as a species over millions of years to be able to adapt to environments far more hostile than the ones we currently live in--or, for that matter, than a NHB/MMA arena. So hit the system hard and, provided you give it adequate rest, it will fight back harder than you hit it, so that you can hit it again and again.
Regarding what to do on rest days or rest periods when you are not napping or sleeping, some like to go fishing, play golf, read a book or catch up on a bit of house of maintenance--but I like to work on my mind. In other words, you might have fought the fight with a particular opponent in mind in the gym or on the mat many, many times, but you need to fight the fight in your mind's eye and win it many, many more. You might be an elite athlete with superb conditioning and technical skills, but if you are in the wrong psychological state of mind, plagued with self-doubt, unable to focus upon that which is important, make split-second decisions and act decisively at a cricital moment (particularly when finding yourself in a difficult situation), then chances are even against a mediocre opponent, you will lose.
Crucial to winning the fight in your mind's eye is to being able to visualize and work through various fight scenarios in your mind's eye, with such internally focused intensity that it is as if you are fighting the fight for real. What is important to such practice, however, as it also is for shadow fighting and working with a submission dummy, is that the fight you are fighting in your mind's eye is reality-based. In other words, if you are working with a submission dummy, you only practice moves that have been proven to work at the highest level of competition and not moves that only work on a submission dummy! One way of gaining a reality check, apart that is from actual competition or hard sparring and scrimmaging, is to watch lots of NHB/MMA fight videos, not for a vicarious experience (as many do) but so as to form clear impressions of various fight scenarios on the feet and upon the ground, as well as the moves and countermoves within them, and their transitions. It is in the visual impressionof what effect you need to cause or prevent, and the kinesthetic impression of those internally generated forces by which to do so--formed as a consequence of doing it against someone, having it done to you, or watching somebody else doing it--that is the driving force behind the organization and magnitude of motor recruitment. Naturally, the more reality-based these impressions are, the better. One of the best ways I have found of strengthening these impressions and getting a workout at the same time is to ride an indoor cycle whilst watching NHB/MMA videos, regulating the intensity of my workout so that it matches the intensity of the exchanges taking place in the fight on the feet and on the ground.
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Finally, as someone who has been in the business of fighting for over 40 years, not only have I learnt that to become a great fighter must you possess that necessary mindset, level of athleticism, conditioning, fundamental skills, key moves, strategies and tactics, but that you must always remain current and open-minded, so that when faced with superior fighting skills and training methods and the rationale, concepts, and principles that underlie them, you are prepared to put aside your ego and radically change directions, not for the sake of change itself but for the improvement of your fighting ability.
Wishing you all the best in your training,
Steve Morris
10 June 2004
